Only Ashes
by Sirenidae
Summary: Draco needs money, a new breed of Death Eaters need his help, but when Draco becomes addicted to their charm spells is he hallucinating or is it real? One thing for sure is that he will need the help of Hermione Granger DMHG OC WIP Slightly AU post book 7
1. Chapter 1

**Another story popped into my mind as I was writing another one. They have nothing to do with eachother...oh how I love ADD!!!**

**Please review!  
**

**As usual...JK Rowling owning everything...Me owning nothing...  
**

* * *

In the dark steamy purple of a London night, a lone shadow scuttled across the wet stones. Each step it took echoed damply across the deserted alley and each foggy breath puffed away quickly.

An unsteady heartbeat of wheels in puddles came from the next street over breaking the soggy silence and causing the black shape to freeze with every vehicles passing. The shadow would hop gently from stone to stone in complete silence between cars, its shoes the only noise.

A burst of song tumbled toward the figure and it leapt with surprised grace to the nearest doorway. An obese man, heavy with drink, swayed down the alley, caressing the moldy walls for support. He sang of a lost love, huge lungs stopping only to hiccup or burp, which he would excuse himself of to no one.

The man faded as did his song, and a white cloud of air escaped from the doorframe. The figure wanted to sag with relief but it moved on.

Its hood quivered as the head hidden beneath the fabric searched for something. The figure paused, head tiled upward towards a sign one building down. It was an eye, with a rectangle boxing it in, with a small star in the top left corner. Having found what it was looking for, the body let itself into the corresponding entrance below.

In the darkness, the figure halted, scared for the first time that night. It had felt the presence of another being in the same room. Pain slammed into its neck as the cloaked figure was lifted from the ground.

"Business?" A thick, stupid voice grumbled at the figure out of the blackness. Unable to answer, the pain came again as the thing doing the choking decided to shake the answer out of its captor. The hood fell back, revealing a blonde and very red man. "Business!" The voice demanded, louder. Light soaked the room then, blinding the man's sight.

A silky woman's voice came towards the pair. "Moth, let him go please, he's just a customer, aren't you?" The man felt a new pain as he landed on the ground. Gasping, the man rubbed his neck and tried to adjust to the light.

The woman's voice came again. "You should have knocked. And put your hood back on, I don't want to see your face." Hastily doing what she said, the man scrambled to his feet and inched towards the light filled door, taking the path farthest away from his attacker as possible. Looking back just as the woman shut the door, the man could make out a huge shape with…

_Fur? Wings? What _is_ that thing?_

"Come on," the woman said sharply. "You're late."

"My apologies-" he started to stammer out.

"Shove it," snapped the dangerous looking woman. "I don't care." The man was taken aback, but he followed her quickly anyway. She stopped abruptly at a door on their left and placed her hand on the handle then turned to the man, but kept her eyes downcast.

"Rule One: I do not want to know who you are, so don't talk to me or show me your face. Rule Two: Do not touch anything; you will have to do more any pay for the thing you touch. Rule Three: Do not cheat me. I know when I'm being played and so does my bodyguard you met already and I don't think you want another run in with him. I'm going to open this door, you are going to look at the middle table and nothing else and you are going to point to the ones you want. You will then wait patiently outside while I pack them up for you. Do not think about going anywhere, Moth will be outside with you."

The man gulped, and the woman smiled. "When I give you your envelope, I will shut the door. Moth will take you back to the lobby and you will pay him. Understand?" The man nodded. "Ready?" The man nodded again. The woman opened the door and snapped it shut so quickly, that it clipped the heels of the man walking into the room.

* * *

**Two days earlier:**

Draco Malfoy did not look good. Poverty did not suit him at all, especially not his clothes. But he was a great pretender and of course still had his wand. However, money was what he really wanted, what he needed.

Sitting at a muggle coffee shop was what he was reduced to and he hated it completely. But the exchange rate was in the wizards favor and Draco was in no position to pass up food or drink of any kind.

Already he had sucked down two plain coffees and was busy shoving his face full of a sloppily buttered scone. Remembering himself as he neared the end of his pathetic breakfast, he tried to retain some dignity by wiping his mouth distinguishably on his paper napkin and haughtily dropping the muggle banknotes on the table before strolling confidently out of the shop.

But he didn't feel confident, in fact he felt like shit. _Bloody awful,_ he thought to himself as he stopped at a street corner to light a cigarette with magic, shielding his wand with a bulky trench coat and a hunch of his shoulder.

Inhaling a dose of nerve calming bliss, Draco relaxed for a moment, letting his back sag against the lamppost and breathing the smoke out his nose.

"Hey mister, you got a light?" A syrupy voice floated out of the alley, a voice that Draco didn't recognize.

Coughing furiously, the tall blonde whipped around to face a tall wizard, the handsome face holding a smirk that could put even Draco's famed sneers to shame. His heart flipped from surprise.

"What the hell do you want?" Draco thought he recognized him from somewhere but he wasn't sure. _A Death Eater circle maybe?_ He wracked his brains trying to look composed. _A Malfoy family party?_ He was at a loss.

"Why, Mr. Malfoy, I want you." The young man drawled with a voice of someone much older. "Or rather, we want you, that is, my employers and I are in want of your potential services.

Draco snorted at this. "Potential services…"

The man's grin dropped off his face. "We have a job for you Malfoy, a job that will pay you well, and considering your…" he gave Draco a once-over. "Your…circumstances, it seems as if you need us just a s much as we need you."

Draco inhaled more smoke and smelled the chance of money in addition to a purpose. Sighing, Draco relented. "What am I going to…do?"

The man smiled, a dark reptilian grin sliding across his finely angled face.


	2. Chapter 2

**FINALLY a second chapter and much more to come...i hope**

**definitely more to come if there are reviews!!!!**

**jk rowling owns it all  
**

* * *

Hermione was late. Pushing back her hair, frizzy in the rain, from her face, she hurried down the steps of the Gringotts bank. Her meeting with the goblins had tested the last of her patience and she was tired.

She had no idea the goblins would be _that_ resistant on being included in the upcoming S.P.E.W. campaign she was launching later that month. This new expansion of her rights group would incorporate a wider range of magical creatures and this meant goblins were invited too.

She had taken great care over the past couple of weeks researching the cultural traditions of goblins and now it seemed all in vain.

They were being especially stubborn and claimed that they didn't need a witches help in sorting out their affairs. Finally, after two hours of debates, Hermione had pushed back her chair and left the goblins with something to think about.

It was hard to leave in the middle of the negotiations and to not push them as far as she had with other magical creatures, but the advice on cultural idiosyncrasies from the book told her not to. _'It is best to leave a goblin thinking he wants something'_ she remembered reading.

Hermione snorted, ducking through the brick archway and into the back of the Leaky Cauldron. _Like they want my help in the first place._

Rushing past Tom with a quick goodnight, she exited the wizard pub and stepped into the wet air.

She had never been one for apparating, and after her continued use of the skill in her seventeenth year with Harry and Ron, she had grown quite sick of it. Plus, walking to and from her work made her feel a little more connected to her muggle side, a side that was quickly fading away. She wasn't ready to let it all go, not just yet.

Passing the darkened bakery she always stopped at in the morning she heard a moan from the alley beside it.

She froze, gripping her wand inside her business cloak.

There was no one about on the street, but Hermione could hear the noise of cars and people around the next block. It was a little after eight on a work day, and Hermione supposed most sane people would be in their homes relaxing after a long day.

Slowly, Hermione entered the alley, wand out underneath her cloak, just in case it was a muggle. Her curious streak had yet to die out from her youth and she wasn't going to leave it tonight.

Hermione saw a stirring mass on the ground and began to move towards it when a little voice spoke up in her head.

_Hermione, this is nonsense. You know that. Walking into a darkened alley in these unstable time? I don't care _who_ you are, you should know better._

Quashing the voice stubbornly, she kept going.

Hermione wrinkled her nose as she heard the distinct sound of someone retching and vomit hitting the ground.

"Who's there?" She called out, moving closer to the sound, igniting her wand tip.

Lying next to a puddle of his own bile was an emaciated Draco Malfoy.

Hermione gasped as she barely recognized her old classmate, his hair was no longer a shiny white-blonde, but dull sand, like it was rotting. His cheekbones poked out on a skeletal like frame and, although his eyes were closed in pain, Hermione knew they would be sunken.

"Malfoy?" Hermione ventured, not sure if this waxy-skinned version of her past was really lying before her.

The thing opened his eyes and grunted. Hermione was unsure of what to do next.

"Good Merlin, Malfoy, what happened to you?" She watched as the disgusting man just shook his head. "No? No what? No, you don't know what happened or no, you don't want to tell me? Malfoy?"

The man's eyes closed again and she wondered if he was still conscious. _I should really take him to St. Mungo's. But why? He won't even thank me for it._

"Malfoy? Are-are you alive?" She stepped closer in time to catch his paper-thin voice crackle out an insult.

"Shut up, Granger."

Hermione smiled wryly. "Nice to see you too, Malfoy. Let's get you to St. Mungo's shall we?"

The figure on the ground started to protest but lost the energy halfway through the word 'no'.

"Well _that _settles it," Hermione said briskly, hauling Draco's arm across her shoulders, supporting the stinking mass. "You reek, you know that? When was the last time you bathed?"

She could tell he was trying to gain the energy to insult her right back and she interrupted his efforts. "Never mind." And, despite her earlier promise to herself to avoid traveling this way. Hermione apparated with Draco to St. Mungo's.

* * *

Draco was lying in a hospital bed, humming to himself, enjoying the way his vision was unfocused on the edges of his eyes.

Hermione was glaring at him, clutching her purse and checking her wristwatch like she was going to be really late for something.

She jumped when the door opened and a healer and a medi-witch entered the tiny room.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Malfoy," the healer began, mistaking Hermione for Draco's wife. Hermione ignored this. "But our testing facilities did not recognize the drug in Mr. Malfoy's system. Although we were able to recognize some…" he searched for the word. "_Kemcals_ in his blood."

"Kemcals?" Hermione echoed, confused. "Oh, you mean chemicals?" she let the thought dawn on her before she rounded on Malfoy.

"Malfoy, you took _muggle_ drugs?!" Hermione's voice was choked.

Draco frowned, annoyed. "I didn't know _what_ they were, you stupid girl."

"Yes, well, I'll leave you to sort this out. If you have any more questions, I'll be in my office down the hall…" the healer trailed off lamely, back out the door leaving the medi-witch alone to check Draco's vitals.

"Malfoy, your idiocy astonishes me." Hermione laughed without humor, appalled.

"And your inferior blood status continues to astound me, so there you go." He was now pulling at his hair, just to make sure it was still attached.

Hermione closed her gaping mouth and moved away from his hospital bed. "Alright, if that's how you're going to thank me, fine. But you do realize that you are now a Mudblood too. You have our chemicals in your blood."

Draco just snorted, although she noticed that he had stiffened slightly when she said this.

Hermione just looked up at the medi-witch who was staring at the pair. "Have fun with this one, he's a real laugh." Hermione strode out of the room without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Draco alone with the medi-witch who giggled, nervously.

Draco just glared at the girl until she left his room and shut the door quickly behind her.

* * *

Hermione got back to her apartment much later than she was comfortable with and slammed the door. She banged her keys down on the entrance table and proceeded to angrily set upon her apartment like it was at fault for her ruined evening.

After accidentally breaking a glass when she went to get water, Hermione gave up the act of violence and tried to calm down.

_I knew that this would happen, _she thought. _Ungrateful bastard, why did I even help him?_

She chugged at a fresh glass of water.

_I'm too _Gryffindor_ for my own good. _She placed the glass in the sink and turned around. _Too bloody noble. _Over_ helpful, even._

Hermione had truly thought she had seen the last of Draco Malfoy three years ago in the great hall at Hogwarts.

_Apparently not, _she grimaced.

She decided to calm herself. She had to. Ron was coming over soon and she had to get ready.

Standing in the shower, Hermione tilted her head up to the water flow, closing her eyes and feeling the movement of the water rushing down her skin. She was supposed to be getting ready for her boyfriend, but found that she could only think about Malfoy.

To her, this was an honest to goodness, true mystery to solve; the likes of one she hadn't seen since her Hogwarts adventure days.

Curiosity spiked, Hermione ran through the motions of washing, drying and styling all the while thinking about what tidbits of information she had so far. And questions that were burning with the desire to be answered.

Malfoy was on drugs, _muggle_ drugs no less, she knew that much. And probably addicted, judging by the state of his condition. Hermione wrinkled her nose remembering his putrid odor that made her think of a homeless man.

_I wonder if he's no longer living in Malfoy Manor, _thought Hermione, wand-drying her hair. _And who had he gotten the drugs from?_ She had no idea who would even be in the market to sell such drugs, especially to a wizard who should know better.

Hermione frowned in the mirror, concentrating on covering a spot. Should_ know better, doesn't mean that he does. If he's homeless he's probably desperate..._ That much was clear; after all, he _had_ accepted help from Hermione, even with a few insults.

_Plainly, _Hermione ruminated further, leaving the bathroom to dress. _He was not sober tonight. But how on earth does someone like Malfoy get into muggle drugs? And who was he getting them from?_

Her musings were cut off with the scraping sound of the extra key in her lock, and she was able to fling on a plain brown dress before turning around to greet Ron.

"Hey gorgeous." Ron smiled; carrying a plastic bag with what looked like was holding a bottle of wine. "I brought white."

Hermione forced herself to smile sweetly. She really wasn't in the mood to have sex tonight. Not after the goblins and the Malfoy thing… Plus, lately to her horror, she found that she wasn't enjoying herself as much as she did at the start of their relationship.

She found sex with Ron safe, predictable and most recently boring.

Hermione really never thought herself as a forward person, least of all in the bedroom, but lately she was beginning to feel wanting in that area in her life, and was unsure how to go about asking Ron if they could ramp things up a bit.

Maybe tonight she'd get up the nerve.

Gathering her courage, she walked seductively over to Ron, who was busy putting his coat away and placing the bottle on her table.

"I have an idea, babe." She said, lowering her voice to catch his sexual interest sooner in the evening. "Let's skip the wine, let's do something different."

She watched him pause, hand on the bottle.

"Different, honey?" Ron was confused, and at one point Hermione remembered thinking this look on him to be quite cute. Now it was just frustrating.

"Yes, different." Hermione said sharply, then after noticing his startled look, she lapsed back into her sugared tones. "I don't know, let's do it right here, right now on the table, hmm?" She nudged her way into his arms, brining her lips up to his ear, brushing them as she spoke. "Take me right here."

She enjoyed the power she had in making him shiver but he pushed her back.

"On the table, Hermione?" Ron chuckled. "That's not what it was made for, silly goose. Let's just drink the wine and do like we always do. Plus you know we both have to be at work in the morning." He finished setting up the wine.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, of course, what was I thinking? We have work…" _How could he be thinking about work when we are about to have sex?_ Hermione thought angrily.

Ron handed her a glass and she took it, glad for the distraction. She planned on drinking a little more than she usually did tonight. It looked like it was going to be a long one…

After their love making, which Hermione got into as soon as the wine got into her, Ron lay on her chest, making Hermione wrap her arms around him and hold him as if he were the girl. Hermione hated it when he did this.

A few moments passed in silence before Ron spoke.

"Honey, what are you thinking about?"

"Hmm…?" Hermione was distracted, and twirled her hair. "Oh, nothing really. Malfoy I guess."

Ron sat up very fast. "_What?_" Hermione blinked at him, she had never seen him move this fast after sex in her life. "Hermione, how can you think about him at a time like this?"

Hermione smiled to herself as she thought of him thinking of work earlier, but she didn't bring it up.

"Sorry, no it's not like that; it's just that I brought him to St. Mungo's earlier this evening. It looks like he's addicted to muggle drugs."

She craned her neck down to look at Ron's face, he had settled back into her chest.

"Do you or Harry know anything about this?"

She felt and saw Ron shake his head. "Blimey, no. But…Merlin's beard. _Draco_ Malfoy? The one we went to school with? I didn't know he had it in him. Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes." Hermione was twisting her hair again. "Yes I'm fine. I just did a side-along apparation with him. Listen, he looked pretty bad and homeless by the likes. Do you think-"

But Ron yawned widely. "Look, sweetheart. You know I'd _love_ to talk about Malfoy any day but if you really want to know about him, you should just go see Harry at the Ministry. He knows all about the Manor and the Malfoys. Plus, he'd love to see you."

Ron snuggled closer, making Hermione clench her jaw in annoyance. "How was your day, though? I heard you spent it with goblins…"

Hermione told Ron about her frustrating day but gave up halfway through when she realized that he had fallen asleep.

* * *

**ew i know hermione and ron i hate it but its only until other things start to happen...dont worry**


	3. Chapter 3

**I wrote this chapter trying to get it to read like the chapter itself was on drugs, just like Draco.**

**Let me know if you felt high reading this lol**

**JK owns it all**

* * *

Draco sat glumly in his hospital bed with a pounding headache. Thinking through the pain, he realized two things.

One: he had failed in his mission and two: he wanted more pills.

It wasn't his fault, none of this was. What the fault was he was excusing himself from, Draco had yet to figure out, but he knew for certain that displacing the blame in any situation left him feeling better.

The last thing he remembered from before the Pills was following the snake-like man into a basement of a club and listening to his proposal.

* * *

"You will run errands for us, little stuff at first, gradually working your way up the system, and we will give you what you want." A voice had said from a shadowy desk before Draco.

He had looked up at the reptilian man that was his escort with a raised eyebrow. The man only nodded forward.

"What do I want?" Draco asked with some cheek.

"Don't worry about that now; all you need to think about at the moment is your first job. You will need to get a picture for us. A picture that shows the location of a certain…_object _of great importance to us. In return, we will give you a place to stay and a meal. What do you say to that?" It appeared that the shadow had leaned forward.

"I say nothing yet," Draco stalled. "What's the catch?"

"Just a small thing," Draco could have sworn the shadow had raised a finger. "Our…_competitors_ have hidden not only the location of the desired object but of the place you will need to visit to find the photograph. However, we have recently obtained a charm that reveals to the seeker where the latter is. We managed to reduce the charm to pill form for easier distribution, so all you have to do is take the pill and follow where the charm leads you."

Draco had frowned. "If you think I am going to take a pill and wander around the streets of London-"

"Oh, not to worry about _that_." The shadow had interrupted. "The charm has a built in directional service that will allow you to find your way quite easily."

"And once I'm done with this little task of yours?" Draco had wondered out loud.

"You will be allowed three days to think about a more permanent position with us."

Draco had thought for a long minute. "Who are you people? I won't do anything unless I know who I'll be working for. And I want to be paid in addition to the meal and board."

The shadow had slammed a hand down on the desk, bringing Draco to silence. "Do you really think you are in any position to bargain, boy? You have nothing we want and we have everything you need."

Draco didn't say anything. The shadow spoke up again. "This is our final offer. So, _what do you say?"_

After shaking hands with the shadow-man, Draco was lead down a back hallway into a white hospital looking room and was told to sit on the chair in the middle of it.

Waiting alone in the chilly room, Draco wondered what he had gotten himself into, but all thoughts of that kind evaporated when a pretty medi-witch entered the room bearing two tiny pill cups.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," the medi-witch had chirped. "Slight change of plans. We are going to be giving you two pills today. One is an explainer, it tells you a bit about the history of the Object which will allow you to better serve us, that is if you choose to."

Draco began to feel doubtful then, this other explainer pill was not mentioned in the earlier proceedings. "What? This wasn't mentioned-"

"I know," the medi-witch had interrupted. "We apologize for that oversight, but we are a bit stretched to our limits now, and these things do happen. Now if you will just sit back…"

The woman had handed Draco a glass of water and held the first pill between her thumb and forefinger.

"Open wide," she smirked and Draco had the distinct impression that he was three again.

He swallowed dutifully and when the pill hit his stomach, he doubled over in pain.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" Draco remembered screaming. But the medi-witch wasn't listening.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Mr. Malfoy. "Close your eyes, sometimes it helps."

Draco screwed his eyes shut. The pain in his stomach had radiated out and was now chugging slowly throughout his entire body, concentrating in his head.

"It's not helping," Draco gasped.

"Now open your eyes," said a voice from everywhere.

* * *

The librarian's breath ruffled quietly, like air through the pages of an open book. He sat at a desk labeled 'Reference' and 'Check Out' upon a hard wooden stool that had slowly warped to accommodate the man over time.

In the later years of his life, the old man and the old books he tended began to have much more in common than normal. His eyes were the same color as the pages he watched over, his lips like the leathery binding of each story, and when he spoke, dust mingled with each word he formed. The brass name plate had greened at the edges, and the white carving of 'Polonius, Head Librarian' had turned as yellow as his skin.

Polonius had worked at the Bailey Town Library for over two generations, and was no longer the handsome new librarian, or the charming old man to the citizens. The library was no longer the bustling place it once was, either.

Like Polonius, the entire building seemed to sag, its glass windows waving in and out to the multiple layers of dust that coated its interior. There were old scholars that sought refuge between the shelves of knowledge, but they were just as weary as their surroundings, and would sleep through the day at the long tables.

Company and friends were distant and unfamiliar to Polonius, although he would never admit it.

A door distantly clicked shut, a cough, a sniff and the re-adjusting of a chair was all that Polonius was aware of. Rising from his apathetic state he blinked his eyes and shook himself. Squinting through the misty mustard colored light of the library, he noticed that none of his permanently drowsy companions were conscious. It was the light that had made him look around at all.

Admiring the speck filled breams streaming from the cathedral like ceiling to the marble floor; Polonius was annoyed to see the panels of light disrupted by a shape. Squinting harder, his tired eyes passed an empty bird cage and stopped in front of a massive bookshelf. The mahogany wood backdrop was interrupted by the shape of a boy.

Started into sitting straighter the ancient bookkeeper addressed the black haired intruder. "You there, boy! What business have you 'round here, eh?"

Feeling lightheaded with surprise, the slender teen stood and bit his cheek and thought fast. "Good afternoon sir, I'm sorry to have disturbed your work. Please, pay me no mind." The light was landing across the boy's eyes making it impossible for him to see Polonius.

About to turn back to the bookshelf, the boy was interrupted when the librarian spoke up again. "Here, you need permission to be in here alone. Whatever are you looking for anyway?"

The boy ground his teeth with frustration and then controlled his features. "I'm working. And I do have permission, how else would I have gotten in?"

"Don't you dare get snippy with me boy," Polonius frowned down at the child with as much anger as he could muster.

"Your pardon, Sir, it's not my place." With the flourish of old manners, the boy's statement seemed to soothe the old man.

"Working, eh? What on?" Polonius missed his conversations with young people, and leaned forward eagerly.

Shifting nervously the boy choked, swallowed, and started again. "Er…on an essay. What makes desire? It's for a class."

"Good, good." smiled Polonius, causing his cheeks crinkle and fold away revealing parchment colored teeth. "You looking for a particular book, then?"

The boy grinned. "Actually, yes, perhaps you know it? It's called 'Instructions to Desire'."

Polonius snorted and swallowed, and the black and grey clad student made a face and hoped it would go unnoticed. It must have for the wrinkly man had opened his worn lips.

"Hmm. The last time I saw that book, oh, must have been a couple years ago…Yes, I remember, a girl. I remember a girl, beautiful, young, had quite a head of hair, I think. I must have fallen asleep; I can't recall what happened then. My, she was pretty."

The boy's nerves fuzzed with excitement. "Was the book gone after you woke up?"

Polonius frowned. "Why…yes, yes I believe it was. But I don't think she took it, granted it was at least three years ago. She looked so nice, though, not like a thief at all…"

But the boy wasn't listening to the senile man's blabber. He had already slid out of the room parading a dark reptilian grin across his angled face.

* * *

Draco awoke from a nap unsure of where he was. The dream had been so vivid, it had startled Draco before he realized that he had seen it because of the First Pill.

Settling back into his pillows, Draco remembered that he was at St. Mungo's, and very much alone.

Sighing, Draco tried to ignore the pounding in his brain, demanding more Pills.

_I'll just have to live on my memories of them,_ Draco thought, melodramatically.

Shutting his eyes again, Draco thought back to when he woke up in that white room after the First Pill.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" The medi-witch had asked him, her hand on her back, a warm towel mopping his damp forehead.

"That was…" Draco heaved deep breaths into his lungs. "So _real_."

The witch smiled. "Yes, we here at headquarters have worked very hard to make it so. Are you ready for your next pill?"

Draco looked up to see her holding a large blue oblong shape between her thumb and forefinger like she had the last one.

"Sure…" Draco said, still unsteady.

"This one will put you to sleep for a while, allowing us to place you back on the street in a motel, giving the pill time to work out where you are in relation to where you have to go. You will then get up and follow the directions the pill will give you. I'm sure they explained it all to you before."

"Actually-" Draco began, but was cut off by the medi-witch popping the pill in his mouth and thrusting another glass of water into his hand.

"Drink up!" The witch had said so cheerily that Draco was caught completely by surprise when the pill knocked him out.

Draco had woken up sometime later, he didn't know how much later, lying on a motel bed, as promised.

_Get up._

The voice came from the back of his mind. It was powerful and Draco felt the urge to obey it.

He got up.

_Walk outside and take a left into the alleyway next to the motel._ Don't _let anyone see you._

Draco stumbled to obey, and entered out into the purple night…

Present-day, hospital, withdrawing Draco sighed. The action made a wave of nausea flow through his stomach and he choked it down.

That first job had been so weird, there had been a moth man and a woman with rules and pictures.

Draco remembered looking eagerly over the pictures that were laid out in front of him, eager to leave the place with the unnatural bodyguard and the stern woman.

Finding the photo that the company wanted, just an old picture of a library bookshelf, Draco had paid the moth thing hurriedly and left, following the Pill's instructions back to the motel to wait for a car.

When a limo pulled up about an hour later, Draco was surprised to see the medi-witch from the white room get out and enter the motel.

A few moments later, she was in the room, holding out her hands for the picture. Draco handed it over immediately and asked when his promised meal would be delivered.

"Soon, soon," the witch had answered, distracted by the envelope in her hands. "Here, take this," she said, holding out another pill. "You'll need to be debriefed."

"I don't want another pill. I want food." Draco annoyed himself with his manner but he was hungry.

"Just take the bloody pill, everything will be explained to you through it," the witch had snapped so violently that Draco took the medicine without question.

* * *

That's all he remembered with certain clarity. The rest of the time, he guessed it had been two weeks since that day until this one, when he was brought to the hospital by Hermione Granger.

Draco shuddered thinking about his old classmate. _Merlin, she's annoying, even when the Pill was protecting me._

_I want a Pill. I need to know my next mission._

Cranky and with a headache, Draco tried to move out of bed, but his nausea wouldn't let him. Vomiting over the side of the bed onto the floor, he didn't notice the door open.

"Mr. Malfoy," a familiar voice said. "It's good to see you."

Draco looked up into the eyes of the medi-witch. He felt relieved when he saw her, like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. "Emile, do I get another Pill?"

"Yes, but hurry and take it, the company doesn't want me getting caught here."

Normally Draco would have asked a couple of questions but his want for the pill Emilie held in her hands was so great, that he just stretched out his hand and begged for it.

"There you go, don't forget to report back to us. You must get out of this hospital, do you understand?" Emilie looked at Draco who was searching wildly for water.

"Yes," the man said quickly, deftly popping the pill into his mouth. Instant bliss flooded his mind as he sank back into his pillows, not caring about anything else.

"I'll check back on you later," Emile said, quietly leaving the room.

Draco didn't hear her.

* * *

**Review!!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**wow it's been way too long...**

**please review!!!**

**Jk rowling owns everything  
**

* * *

Hermione woke with someone shaking her shoulder.

"Hermione, its time to get up, we have to go," Ron's voice came thickly through her sleep fogged mind.

"Go?" Mumbled Hermione, unaware of where she was. "Did someone see us?" She said, sitting up a little straighter. "Do we have to apparate?"

She blinked to see Ron looking at her fondly, albeit a little strangely. "No, silly goose. That was three years ago, don't worry, you're safe."

"Oh," Hermione rubbed her eyes. "Bad dream, I guess." Ron nodded along with her and left the bedroom for the bathroom.

_Too much wine,_ Hermione thought. _Just a little to much-_Malfoy!

Hermione sat straight up in bed as she remembered what happened the previous night.

"'Mione?" Ron asked, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

The girl shook her head. "No, it's just that…" For some reason Hermione didn't want to tell her boyfriend that she was thinking about Malfoy again. "My job." She said lamely instead. "Those damn goblins…"

_Jeeze, _she thought. _Honest communication makes a good relationship…oh well._

"Oh yeah," Ron called from the bathroom as he was brushing his teeth. "They're a bunch of wanks. Never liked them, goblins." He spit into the sink, making Hermione wrinkle her nose.

"Right, like you listened to me last night," Hermione muttered, getting out of bed and looking at the clock.

_Fuck, I don't even have time to shower._

Quickly changing into her work robes, Hermione decided to skip coffee this morning, she wanted to be the first one out the door.

"I'm leaving, babe!" she called back over her shoulder, flinging a coat over her arm. "You'll lock up?" She grabbed her own set of keys, leaving Ron's extra on the table beside an empty bottle of wine.

Hermione sighed, looking at that bottle.

"What? Oh yeah, that's fine. Have a good day!" Ron waved to her from the bed room as he was pulling on his pants.

Smiling at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, Hermione closed the door and exited her apartment.

Once again, she walked to work. _Much better than apparating._

Soon she found herself nearing the alley way where she found her classmate the previous night and she hurried past it, like it was cursed.

Hermione entered into the bakery next to the alley to buy herself breakfast. Biting into a buttery croissant in the mornings was the only thing that the brunette really enjoyed these days.

_Wow, that's pathetic._ Hermione told herself, finishing the last of the crumbs before entering into the leaky cauldron.

Entering into her tiny office space above Flourish and Blotts, Hermione settled in for the day.

Hermione was always the first one at her office and she enjoyed it. Being the early everyday was a constant throw-back to her competivitveness from her school days. She relished being the best in classes and now her intensity was manifesting in her punculatiy in the working world.

Hermione snorted at that thought. _I really am a dork,_ she thought amused as she shuffled around some papers at her desk. _Oh well,_ was her last conscious thought before her mind was lost in the rhythm of the work day.

She was interrupted about an hour later by her two associates entering the tiny office space, laughing and chattering to each other while sipping coffees. Hermione looked up and frowned.

"Luka, Daisy, can you guys _please _ at least _try_ to seem like you want to get here on time, or could you pretend to be sorry when you're late?" Hermione knew they hated when she played the annoying boss but she couldn't help it. Their organization was small enough already and they really couldn't afford any unprofessionalism.

Luka looked sheepish. "Sorry Ms. Granger, traffic." Daisy giggled.

Hermione almost growled. "You know Luka, that excuse would work a lot better if you didn't apparate here. I know for a fact that it is impossible to cause a traffic jam by apparating. And you're pure blood! You didn't even know what the word meant before I taught it to you!"

Daisy giggled again, but this time it was into her coffee. The tiny dark-haired witch almost snorted the dark hot liquid in every direction. Hermione just rolled her eyes at her two employees.

"Oh Merlin, I forgive you guys _again._" Hermione said with the tiniest hint of a smile. Luka picked up on her mood.

"So how did it go with the goblins last night?" the man asked, settling into his desk which was across from Hermione's.

"Yea," Daisy echoed, sitting down in her chair across the room. "How did it go?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Not well. You know the head goblin at Gringott's? Spoor? Yes well he didn't want anything to do with me after I mentioned equal rights on par with the wizarding community. He went on and on about how the goblins already were a self-sufficient community and how they had their honor to uphold before even considering taking another deal with wizards…" Hermione finished with a sigh. "It was all very trying."

Daisy nodded. "They are still very sore from what happened to them during the war, it's understandable. But what did you say to that?" The thin witch sipped at her coffee, looking at Hermione with a keen interest.

"I told them fine, take as long as they want and if they cared to contact me in the future I would let them know further details about their benefits. And then I left."

It was Luka's turn to nod. "Good on, Ms. Granger, always leave them wanting something. I bet they were furious that you didn't tell them about the benefits outright."

Hermione smiled grimly. "They were pretty loud as I was leaving…" she laughed as her employee's did and she enjoyed sharing the joke with them, even if it was based on putting down another race. Changing the subject Hermione asked Luca, "Where are we with the werewolves?"

The trio worked together until around noon when Daisy got an owl from her cousin who worked in St. Mungo's. "Dear Merlin!" she squealed as she read the note. "You guys would never believe who is in St. Mungo's for a muggle drug problem! Draco _Malfoy_!"

Hermione blanched. "What?" she asked.

Daisy nodded vigorously mistaking Hermione's question for one of interest in the gossip that Daisy herself so relished. "Yeah! Strange isn't it? Colleen just told me that she was the nurse on duty at the desk when he was brought it by some unknown female…"

Daisy read on but Hermione couldn't help but blush at the mention of an 'unknown female'. Merlin, had she really been that idiotic to think that no one in the entire hospital would have seen her if she slipped in around dinner time?

She looked up to see Luka eyeing her strangely. Hermione looked away quickly and down at her watch. _About an hour for lunch…_ she found herself thinking. _I could just go check on him…_

She made a snap decision. "Well!" she said, interrupting Daisy's monologue recitation of her cousin's note. "I just realized I forgot my lunch at home today, I'll see you all at one. And," Hermione added as she put on her cloak in the door way. "_Don't _be late getting back from lunch."

With that, she left the building.

Daisy looked at Hermione's empty desk and then up at Luka, confused. "But her lunch is right there…"

* * *

Hermione walked down one hall at St. Mungo's as quietly as she could, the wooden floors threatened to squeak around her shoes the whole time. Finally reaching the door she had stormed out of the night before she hesitated.

_I've come all this way,_ she thought, her hand on the doorknob. Holding her breath, Hermione opened the door.

Draco Malfoy was grinning like an idiot with his eyes fixed on the light above his headboard. Although they were half-hooded in some kind of personal pleasure, Hermione could see them sparkling beneath the lids with some unearthly light.

His breathing was shallow and uneven but he didn't seem to notice. The only thing he looked to be aware of was the light and how it affected his eyes. Lifting up a hand, Draco started to wiggle his fingers as he giggled, as if he could touch the light, as if it were tangible and he could play with the shafts that were invisible to the rest of the world.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked, shocked. He didn't acknowledge her presence. Instead he hiccupped and smiled wider at the light. She took a couple of steps closer to him. "What in Merlin's name happened to you?"

Still he lay there unresponsive.

Hermione racked her brains. "Did they do something to you? Did the healers give you medicine?"

At the word 'medicine' Draco jerked his head and finally looked at his visitor through squinted eyes. "Granger?" was all he said.

Hermione's shoulders drooped in shocked exasperation. "Yes, Granger, it's me. I-I've come to check on you. Do you remember? Last night? I brought you here."

Draco's attention was back on his hand but he still answered her. "Last night?" he echoed, his voice sounding far-off and weak. Suddenly he sat up and looked at her with a disgusted look on his face. "Last night?" he shouted then he said in a hoarse whisper, like someone might hear him, "Did we shag?"

Hermione took a step back. "No!" she yelled and then, feeling bad about having just yelled at a sick person she said quieter, "No we didn't, I brought you here because I thought you had overdosed on muggle drugs. On some sort of pills…"

"Pills!" Draco shouted, as loud as Hermione had ever heard him. "Where are my pills?!"

"I-I don't have them," she said with her hands up as if they could protect her form the man in the hospital bed.

Draco merely scoffed and sat back into his pillows. "I know you don't have them, idiot. Emile does. She's the one that gives them to me. In a limo she brings them to me in a motel."

The brunette's ears pricked up at Draco's words. Her curiosity was fully roused now. "What motel? And who's Emile?"

Draco waved his hands at her as if to brush her off but he became fascinated with the movement and didn't stop. "I don't know. Some motel called the Pony. I don't know. I don't care."

Hermione waited but when it was clear that Draco wasn't going to say anything else she prompted, "And Emile? Who is she?"

"She is a medi-witch who is great!" Draco snapped.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm sure she is but what does she _do_?"

"Do?" Draco looked confused. "She gives me pills. And they are good pills. They tell me things…"

"I'll bet they do," Hermione said cutting off Draco's drugged ramblings off before he could really start. She moved to go sit in the visitor's chair in his room. Ignoring Draco was easy, he was ignoring her and besides, she needed to think.

_The Pony motel, _she thought. Hermione was sure she could find that motel even though she had never heard of it until now. _It has to be a wizarding motel too, otherwise Malfoy would never have gone into it, and that narrows down the search by quite a lot._ Cheered by this fact slightly, Hermione then remembered the woman named Emile and soon lost her good mood.

_That could be anyone, even in the wizarding community, _she thought harder, trying to block out the sound of Draco talking gibberish to himself. He yelled out something about a photograph and Hermione looked up at him from her position in the chair.

Tucked into white hospital linens Draco looked quite harmless but he also looked haunted and depraved. Hermione could scarcely believe that he was once her school mate.

She studied the dark circles under his eyes and was shocked by how shrunken his cheeks were. His already prominent check bones were sticking out even more.

In spite of herself, Hermione found that she was intrigued, even more so than before. This chance at solving a mystery, the opportunity to be involved in something other than her pathetic life with Ron was incredibly appealing, even more appealing than it had appeared to her the night before.

Hermione grinned without humor and she traced her lips in thought. _My job's shit, _she told herself bitterly. _My boyfriend's shit. Let's face it, my life's shit right now. I could do with some action._ She looked up at Draco who was now wordlessly communing with the ceiling.

_Something is really wrong with him and I really want to know what it is. _She couldn't help it, her curiosity was stoked.

Abruptly standing up, Hermione crossed the room and stopped at his bedside, leaving her cloak and purse in the chair. Looking down at him she was appalled by the appearance of his skin, waxy and pulled tight to the edges.

She leaned closer, relieved that his eyes were now closed and that he couldn't perceive any of this. Frail and an addict he still looked handsome Hermione had to admit. His lips were full and confident even if they were pallid in color.

Hermione leaned ever closer, trying not to trace the line of his strong jaw with the pad of her fingertip. Instead she traced the air just above it. Yes, he was still a beautiful man even in his sickness.

As if he heard Hermione's internal compliments, Draco's mouth relaxed revealing teeth that clearly hadn't been brushed for several weeks and slightly bleeding gums.

"Merlin, Malfoy," she breathed. "What have you done to yourself?"

His eyes flew open. "What are you doing?" he yelled causing Hermione to jump back with a cry. His unfocused eyes rolled in their sockets. "Are you Emile? Emile? I can't see you. Is it time for another pill? Emile!" Draco was shouting now and Hermione had backed up fully to her chair and she clutched at it for support.

Draco sat bolt upright in bed and howled, demanding Emile and pills. The door to his room banged open and two healers came running in. Hermione recognized the medi-witch from the other night and she stared at her as if expecting some explaination.

"What happened?" the other healer demanded of the stunned brunette.

"I-I don't know. One minute he was just lying there in a drugged stupor and the next he was yelling his head off. I didn't do anything," she added stupidly.

The healer was now restraining Draco and he took out his wand with some difficulty. Hermione thought that if he could have glared at her at the same time, he would have. "Great," the healer told the medi-witch. "It appears that he somehow took another pill. I thought you were supposed to keep an _eye_ on him,"

The medi-witch looked abashed. "I'm sorry," she whined. "I didn't see anyone come into his room…"

"Not even her?" the healer demanded, throwing a nod toward Hermione.

Hermione blanched. "I didn't do anything," she repeated.

"Right," said the healer who had finally managed to bind Draco long enough for him to stay still in order to accept a sleeping potion which stilled his screams. "You could have easily snuck him a pill without us knowing."

Hermione frowned. "Why on earth would I want to do something like that?" she asked, incredulous.

"I don't know," the healer replied looking at Draco's chart and marking something down on it using a wand for his pen. Then to the medi-witch he said, "He's definitely had another pill. I'd say at least a milligram."

Hermione couldn't help herself. "Another one? But how is he supposed to detox if he keeps getting pills?"

The healer glared at her. "That's the real question isn't it?" he asked before dropping the chart back onto the foot of Draco's bed and sweeping out of the room, but not before nodding at the medi-witch.

The slight girl looked at Hermione with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, miss, but you're going to have to come with me down to security. We need to check you out to make sure you weren't the one who administered the drugs to the patient."

"But I wasn't!" Hermione protested.

The medi-witch nodded. "Even so, it's protocol. If you would?" The girl gestured plainly to the door.

Grumbling, Hermione grabbed her cloak and purse and with one last furtive look at the sleeping form of Draco she exited the room and waited for the medi-witch to lead her to security.

As they entered the elevator Hermione realized with a sinking heart that this was probably going to take up more of her lunch break than she had planned.


	5. Chapter 5

**BLARGH! writing fan fiction is hard**

******but let's be honest...i don't really mind**

**jk rowling owns it all**

* * *

The security wizard had frisked and searched her for a lot longer than Hermione thought was necessary. But her mind was too wrapped up in the mystery of Draco Malfoy to really care.

By the time St. Mungo's security released her it was two o'clock. A full hour after she told Daisy and Luka lunch would be. And she hadn't even eaten. Ignoring her rumbling stomach, Hermione walked briskly down the streets back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

As she passed through the brick archway she bit her lip. _This whole thing would be a lot easier to figure out if Malfoy had been found on a wizarding street, not a muggle alley._

Hermione sighed. These musings would get her nowhere if she really wanted to figure things out. But this was not something that she could just look up in a library like she was so used to.

She finally reached her office door and paused, color coming to her cheeks when she realized that she had just broken her own rule about tardiness and lunchtime. What would Daisy and Luka think? _Merlin, even out side of school and on drugs Malfoy causes trouble._ Taking a deep breath, Hermione opened the door and walked into her office.

"Ms. Granger!" exclaimed Daisy. "Where _were _you? Are you alright?" The dark haired girl rushed up to her.

Hermione put out her hands to stop her employees advance. "Yes, yes, Daisy I'm fine. I am so sorry that I'm late I just…got…distracted." The lie didn't come easily to her lips and although Daisy didn't notice anything, Luka did.

He watched her through thoughtful eyes all the while echoing Daisy's proclamations of concern. After Hermione had gotten them to calm down she waved them back to work as she settled down to her desk. Her stomach rumbled and that's when she realized that she had completely skipped lunch.

Trying to distract herself, Hermione pulled a big tome of Goblin behavior to her and flicked to her bookmarked page. She began to read furiously, trying to ignore the nagging thought that had just popped into the back of her mind.

_Whoever is giving Malfoy the drugs can clearly reach him wherever they want, even in the hospital._

Hermione gulped. _Draco Malfoy is no longer safe at St. Mungo's._

_

* * *

_

The man that was occupying Hermione's thoughts was at the moment trying to figure out where he had placed his feet. They had felt fuzzy until Draco had removed the sheets to look at them. His eyes had itched and after he finished rubbing them he looked back down at his feet.

They were gone.

He stood up and looked down, amazed that he could still stand. But there they were. His feet were back. Draco frowned. _Residual hallucinations, _he thought trying to comfort himself. _Emile told me something like this might happen._

He felt good: now that he had another pill in his system he felt calm, in control of his life. The world looked a little better, a little brighter and Draco breathed it all in with a deep breath. Crossing to his window he looked down at the muggle street below him.

So many people going about their daily lives without knowing magic surrounded them up to their eyeballs. Draco wondered briefly if any other wizard thought about the muggles like this.

He sneered. _Probably not. They really aren't worth wizarding time._ He laughed as the muggles went about their daily tasks, oblivious to the world, the _real_ world around them. Draco laughed again, this time it was cruel.

Draco liked being in control and seeing the unaware muggles on the street below made him feel special, powerful with a secret that they didn't even know they were missing out on.

_Even wizards are missing out,_ he surprised himself by thinking. _I'm one of the few that has the privilege of taking the Pills._ He smiled again and stretched his hands up to the ceiling, enjoying the feeling of his body.

Draco's eyes still lingered on the street below and with his hands raised, he felt like a god type-figure. He roared into a deep stretch, liking the way his voice rumbled in his chest and reverberated in his ears, scaling the full range of his vocal capacity from low to high.

He let his body come out of the stretch slowly, enjoying the satisfied feeling and he looked once more down onto the street filled with…

_Granger!_

The thoughts of muggles had brought his mind back around to the woman he hadn't seen in nearly three years and now he had seen her twice in two days. And he owed her his life.

_Merlin damn it, _he thought angrily placing both hands on the windowsill and placing his forehead against the glass, as if to cool his anger. _I didn't ask to be saved. I can take care of myself._

But something in the back of his mind made him squirm. That day in the alley had been his worst so far. Pain didn't even come close to describing what he felt that day. He had taken too many of his pills, the last four in the bottle Emile had given him.

"We think that you are capable to start managing them on your own," Emile had said. "But don't prove us wrong by taking them all at once." Draco remembered eagerly taking the bottle from her hands and cradling them like they were his children until he had looked up only to see that Emile had left.

But he hadn't cared. The little bottle he had held in his hands had felt so good… And then before he knew it there were only four left.

Draco shuddered as he remembered looking down into the Bottle at the last four Pills. His heart had pounded and the blood had rushed to his head. He was scared, frightened of running out. Emile had told him that she would know when he ran out and that she would bring more straight away.

But he couldn't wait; he had to have more right then. So he had taken four of them at once, thinking it would bring Emile to his side sooner. It hadn't but it had been beautiful. The popping lights he saw flooded from behind his eyes down to the rest of his body, little voices spurting out random instructions in a cacophony of voices that Draco had been unsure of where to go.

So instead he had lain down on the ground of his motel room and watched his body float in the air above his body and he had watched the room spin until his vision grew dark.

Then he had woken up.

Draco straightened at the window in his room at St. Mungo's and he sat back down on his bed. He didn't like thinking about this part. This part made him want to vomit, just like he had after he woke up.

He remembered little of the rest of that night but somehow he had urged his body to stand and walk out of the motel. He had been determined to find Emile and take more Pills from her. He had been so angry that she hadn't shown up that he was positive his anger would lead him straight to her.

But instead it had led him to puke in a muggle alley somewhere he couldn't recognize. He had leaned back against the brick wall just to rest his eyes for a second…only a moment…

Then Granger, bloody _Granger_, had woken him up. At first he had thought it was an angel, the kind his mother used to charm him with stories about when he was little. But then he had blinked. The hair had been too frizzy to be and angel, and the voice too annoyingly familiar…

Draco slammed his fist down on his bedside table next to his hospital bed. "Damn it, Granger!" he shouted. "If you had just _left_ me there, I would have been fine. Instead I'm trapped in this bloody room with only one Pill in my body! I could have had more!"

And now his head hurt, ached and pounded against the walls of his skull making him nauseous. Somehow he knew he needed a Pill to make these awful feelings go away.

Draco flopped back down onto his bed and glared up at the ceiling. "Fuck you," he told the white structure above him. It didn't seem to notice.

* * *

**review or don't whatever i don't care.**

**i actually do care. a lot. please review!**


End file.
